The poster of The Homecoming.

Text readings from some of Pinter’s other major works, including The Birthday Party (1968), Landscape (1968), No Man’s Land (1975) and The Caretaker (1959), were held during the festival.

“I’m so glad that we have the chance to put his works on Chinese stage,” said Toby Eady, a literary agent for Pinter’s estate. “You may find them shocking but the language is artistic and the search for the truth within his plays can never stop.”

Life in Liulizhuang

Life in Liulizhuang premiered on September 11 and is an innovative and intriguing fuse of Chinese cross talk and drama. Set in ancient Chang’an, a capital city in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the play is a derision of contemporary social phenomenon, quoting from history.

Presented by TV director Zhang Yichi and playwright Dongdongqiang, hardcore fans of Chinese stand-up comedy, the play received wide acclaim for its witty and poignant language that mocks heated social issues such as soaring house prices and bureaucracy. To interpret GDP as gao di pi (making money by real estate) is such an example.

The poster of Life in Liulizhuang.